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A group of neuroscientists and cryptographers have created a way to generate a complex and secure password that is stored in the user’s subconscious memory, making it essentially immune to extraction by coercion.

The system hinges on the principle of implicit learning, wherein your mind learns new information and patterns but in a fashion which you don’t consciously recall learning the information. To facilitate this process, the researchers created a simple video game with an interface like the popular game Guitar Hero. Participants in the study played the game, effectively learning a specific set of notes/keys that was hidden within the game sequence. Because of the prior practice and exposure, the participants would then consistently perform better on their specific key sequence than other key sequences in the future, effectively authenticating themselves via the implicit learning that had taken place. It’s as if everyone ran a difference version of a maze and then, in the future, did the best on sections of a randomly constructed maze that resembled their training maze.

Jason Fitzpatrick is warranty-voiding DIYer and all around geek. When he's not documenting mods and hacks he's doing his best to make sure a generation of college students graduate knowing they should put their pants on one leg at a time and go on to greatness, just like Bruce Dickinson. You can follow him on Google+ if you'd like.

“A group of neuroscientists and cryptographers have created a way to generate a complex and secure password that is stored in the user’s subconscious memory, making it essentially immune to extraction by coercion” – Doesn’t make it immune to Inception though does it, eh?

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Although it doesn’t occur in all patients, an early indicator of developing schizophrenia is the onset of olfactory hallucinations wherein the patient frequently smells things that aren’t present in their environment.